Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-01-25
E. d. BAKER.
THE STATESMAN, ORATOR, POET,
AND SOLDIER.
Mrs. Duniway's Lecture, in HALEY
Theater, last Evening, for the Ben.
eft Of the HALEY Post Of the q.

Theater, last Evening, for the Ben
eft Of the HALEY Post Of the q.
A. r.
Mrs. A. S. Duniway lectured in
HALEY Theater, last evening, on the
"Life and Times of f. ID. Baker," for
the benefit Of E. d. Baker Post, No.
16, g. A. R., of Haley. The Thea.
ter was we'll filled, aud the leoturess
held her audience to the close.
Mrs. Duniway had the good fortune
to be we'll acquainted with Edward
Dickinson Baker. She knew of him
shortly after he went to Illinois, later
on when a member OF the same
church, and afterward Mrs. Duniway's
family and Colonel Bakers left the
(then) Far West at the same time to
take up their permanent residence on
the distant Pacific shore. She there.
fore knew him AS lawyes Christian,
railway contractor, politician, states
man, orator, poet and soldier; as
young unmarried man and as the
head of family; and is therefore
thoroughly qualified to speak of him
to praise his many qualities, and
criticise his few faults. But the iec-
turess did not trust to her personal
recoIlections of him alone, and pre-
ferred to draw copiously from a bio
graphical sketch of her subject, by
Joseph Wallace, of Springfield, Hi.
nols, and other authorities.
Edward Dickinson Baker was born
in an humble apartment in London,
England, on the Gath of February,
1911, and was the eldest of family
Of FIVE children. His father was a
man of education, but so poor as to
be compelled to earn precarious live
lihood by teaching private school.
His mother was a sister of Captain
Thomas Dickinson, of the British
navy, who distinguished himself at
Trafalgar.
When E. D. Baker was in his
fourth year his parents emigrated to
Philadelphia, where his father con
tinued to teach, but with Indifferent
success. The family remained there
Tor 10 years, and owing to the indi-
gence of his parents as soon as he
was old enough young Baker was ap-
prenticed to weaver, and kept at
this trade for some years.
In 1925 the Baker family took up
their little stock of household goods
and moved West until they got to the
town of New Harmony, Indiana,
where they remained year or two,
and then moved further We est, to Belle
vile, St. Clair county, Ill. Here the
elder Baker opened select school,
which he conducted successfully for
several years Belleville at that time
was the most important town in the
State, and young Baker, then
sprightly lad of Is, passed the next
two or three years of his life there,
and was not slow to take advantage
of the intellectual excellence of the
more cultivated society Of the place.
He early manifested strong passion
for books, reading with avidsy every
thing on which he could lay his hands,
but particularly History, Biography,
and Poetry. Possessing a rare apti-
tude for acquiring information,
ready and highly retentive memory,
his mind soon became stored with the
rich treasures of literary lore from
which, in after years, he drew copi-
ously. From Bellevile E D. Baker
went to ST. Louis and there drove
dray for at least one season.
Returning to Illinois, he begun the
study of law in the Office of Judge
Caverly in Carrollton, serving at the
same time as deputy county clerk. A
year later he commenced practise
Owing, however, to his youth, and the
absence of influential friends, he met
with but indifferent success during
the first years of his professional life.
April n, 1881, he married widow
with two children, and considerably
his senior in years. The union proved
happy though it added little to his
fortune. Four children were born of
this union-two sons and two daugh-
tiers. The daughters are married,
and with their mother, reside on the
Pacific coast. Soon after his mar